Chapter 123 16-Year-Old Father



"Papa! I-I was so scared! Waaaaaah!" Annabelle cried and cried endlessly in my shirt, refusing to let go of me.

I was back to the world and in the forest of the capital only rang Annabelle's weeps.

[<Papa? You…don't tell me you impregnated her mother while being a mere spir->]

As if!

'Replace your twisted brain, useless Goddess!'

[<What?! H-How can you call me useless when I helped you make the contract! I'm even more tired than you!>]

'Shut up. I don't know either why she is calling me Papa, in the first place.'

It's just a misunderstanding.

I knelt down and looked at Annabelle. "Listen, Annabelle. I am not your father. I was the one talking to you back then in your house, but I am not your father. Your father, your mother's husband is dead from what I know."

"..." Annabelle silently stared at me with her big blue eyes.

"You can call me, Edwa-"

"Daddy!"

"No, I'm not your daddy!"

"You are my Papa!" Annabelle shook her head and hugged me again with her tiny hands.

Why doesn't she understand?

[<Hmmm. I think she knows that you aren't her biological father.>]

Huh?

[<Does she have any memories of her father?>]

'Well, just a few since her father passed away and she was still a child.'

[<She is just feeling lonely and trying to find a family and since she knows you…well, you understand.>]

Right…but.

I glanced at the crying Annabelle and sighed. "How about calling me, Edward?" I asked, trying to compromise.

I mean, I didn't want others to think that I was already a father of an eight years old child! I was sixteen so does that mean that I made a child at eight years old?! It's something impossible on Earth but in this world, we are descendants of DemiGods so our bodies are more than developed at our early ages so despite that it might be rare, it wasn't impossible but the problem wasn't that.

If I had a child at eight years old, they would all think of only one thing! That I forced myself into a maid at that age since at eight years old, I was already developing my twisted mind. I didn't need another misunderstanding—even more now!

"N-No! Papa!" Annabelle shook her head vehemently. It was honestly cute.

Damn…

How the hell did I end up in this situation?

Like Cleenah said, the contracted spirits were random and I couldn't have guessed I would fall on a child. The first time, I was lucky to fall on Mary but this time, it was a child. I couldn't tell if I was lucky or not. 

Of course, it was like giving a second chance to a young girl like Annabelle but was it okay? By following me around, she will not live a normal life or really a better life than when she was with her mother. I was surrounded by threats and danger and it was only the First Game…

The Second Game and the Third Game, I still don't have any ideas on how I will deal with the Events and the enemies.

"Okay, okay…" I patted her hair gently and Annabelle spurred like an adorable kitten before falling asleep in my embrace. A few seconds later, she disappeared in her dimension.

Now that I contracted her, it was my responsibility to take good care of her and…well, I have seen her nightmarish life for a whole month so it would be a lie, if I say that I don't hold any affection for Annabelle.

How am I even supposed to take care of Annabelle?

I don't know how to deal with children…

I had a sister in my previous life and in this one as well but it wasn't exactly the same thing.

Oh.

"Mary," I turned around where Mary was silently watching us this whole time. "Can you take care of her? I won't always be there for her."

From what Cleenah told me, the dimensions of each spirit were connected so they could speak to each other.

Mary smiled at me and vanished. "Yes, Nyr."

Putting on my mask, I altered my eyes to red and hair to black before resuming walking. I didn't know exactly where to find the Golden Grass but I knew that it was deep in the forest so I could only walk to the center for the moment.

More importantly, I had to find Milleia. 

She probably already arrived at the forest before me since she knew that she needed the Golden Grass to save her mother. She probably thought it was only a legend as well but it was her only hope. 

As for me, I knew it wasn't a legend as in the game, I did find them with Jayden. In the game, I chose Milleia over Lyra's event if I remember. Jayden who was worried for Milleia followed her in her village and even in quest to find the Golden Grass. It was the final strike and Milleia eventually fell for Jayden and accepted her feelings for him. 

Well, currently, I didn't even know if Milleia loved Jayden but I was certain that her relation wasn't as advanced as it was supposed to be. 

Anyway, I had no choice but to help Milleia instead of Jayden as the latter is busy with Carla's event. Speaking of that, his fight should start in an hour or two. 

Don't disappoint me, Jayden.

I was confident in beating Thomas with my arsenal of abilities and legacies so I was pretty sure Jayden could as well with Zeus as his legacy. In the case he lost his match so his bet, I will have to talk to the oldman to bring back Jayden though the latter would probably save Jayden even without my intervention. Jayden meant that much for the future of the Celesta Kingdom.

There was nothing to hide. The King, and every high-ranking nobles, knew that something was preparing. A threat never seen before and the 4th Great Holy War was already discussed between them. The threats were numerous; Ante-Eden, Iris Project and the assassins of Caishen. That's precisely why the current Golden Generation in the Celesta Kingdom was nothing short of a miracle for them.

Louisa, Miranda, Kleah, Aurora, Alfred, John and Layla were said to be the pillars and the future leaders of the Celesta Kingdom. They had been gifted with tremendous talent and strength since their young age and it couldn't please the nobles more than that. First to flaunt in front of the countries and second for their own security. 

But as if Eden himself wanted the glory of the Celesta Kingdom, two other amazing talents appeared. Jayden Rayena with his Legacy of Zeus and Milleia Sophren who had Raphiel's bloodline flowing down inside her. 

Louisa and the others were in another caliber, above Thomas obviously. Milleia was still weak though but once she managed to awaken her bloodline…it would be another matter.

...

...

...

I have been walking for now three freaking hours and I finally found her. It wasn't difficult. She was letting out cute and girly yelp here and there, each time, she met a mana beast but despite that, she was strong enough to kill them.

She was wearing a black leather armored dress and was using a sword and a shield as weapons. 

After a minute, Milleia let out a tired sigh.

She had been hunting for hours and was tired, but she had not caught anything yet. As she turned to leave, she heard a low growl. She looked around and saw a fierce wolf, its eyes locked on her.

Hmmm. It's a strong one.

Milleia tightened her grip on her sword and shield and prepared to face the wolf. The wolf charged at her, its claws and teeth bared. Milleia deflected the first attack with her shield, but the force of the blow almost knocked her off her feet.

Not bad.

The wolf circled around her, looking for an opening. Milleia waited, watching its movements carefully. Suddenly, the wolf lunged at her again, and Milleia swung her sword. The blade hit the wolf's shoulder, but it did not seem to do much damage. The wolf growled and attacked again.

Milleia blocked the wolf's attack with her shield and swung her sword again. This time, the blade hit the wolf's head, and the wolf staggered back. Milleia took advantage of the moment and lunged at the wolf. The wolf dodged, and Milleia stumbled. She quickly recovered and regained her footing.

The wolf circled around her again, and Milleia knew she had to finish the fight quickly. She raised her shield and charged at the wolf. The wolf tried to dodge, but Milleia hit it with the shield, stunning it for a moment. She followed up with a powerful swing of her sword, and the blade hit the wolf's neck or so she thought.

-GROWL!

"!"

The wolf dodged at the last minute and jumped toward Milleia to bite her.

Milleia closed her eyes tightly.

"Triple Mirrors."